These Carbon-Neutral and -Negative Beauty Brands Are Doing the Most For Sustainability

Davines pretty much sets the standard for conscious beauty. The brand is B-Corp certified, which is an extremely difficult certification to gain as companies need to legally show, year after year, that its committed to making a positive impact on the environment, its workers, customers, suppliers, and community. Part of Davines' mission to provide high-performance products without compromising the planet is by being carbon neutral. From the products (Davines A Simple Shampoo is its first 100 percent carbon neutral shampoo) to the electricity used in the offices, and even the staffs' commute to work is offset.

Tropic Skincare truly sets out to be a business that uses its force for good. The company is carbon neutral certified and has double offset its carbon emissions since 2018. Its offices are run entirely on 100 percent renewable energy and the company set 0 percent of its waste to landfill in 2019 and 2020. On top of this, the brand supports and creates many education and conservation projects around the world.

Often when we think sustainable beauty, we instantly think skin-care and renewable energy through windfarms, community energy, and water projects. It's fair to say that the skin-care industry has made bigger eco-conscious strides than the makeup category. But brands like Highr Collective are setting the bar high for others to follow suit.

Launched in 2020, the London-based and LA-made brand decided it was going to be carbon neutral from the get go, tracking the companies every move and offsetting it using a company called Native Energy. "By tracking everything from the start, we were able to tell people how much one exact lipstick saves in terms of CO2," explained founder Molly Hart.

Additionally, the factory creating Highr Collective's lipsticks use 100 percent solar energy, the ingredients are responsibly-sourced and plant-based, and the outer packaging is fully recyclable. Although the lipstick tubes themselves aren't recyclable, "right now, we're telling people to send the tube back to us when it's finished. That way, we can properly disassemble it and recycle it," said Hart.

Neighbourhood Botanicals was actually the first UK beauty brand to go carbon negative and is now offsetting twice the amount of carbon it emits. (All products ship to the US.) The company works with Huoshui HydroPower Project, which "generates renewable energy for rural Southwest and South Central China." This project not only offsets carbon emissions, but it also funds local initiatives, employment, and educational programs. Other sustainable initiatives from the company include working with small local suppliers who responsibly source ingredients, using only fully recyclable packaging, and being manufactured and shipped from the UK-based lab. The brand is also working towards a zero-waste refill scheme in early 2021.

Bybi Beauty is a brand that promises to not cause a "strain on biodiversity, non-renewable resources, or the communities involved in their production." Bybi pledged to be carbon neutral by the end of 2020 and carbon negative by the end of 2021. Projects the brand contributes to include, forest conservation and restoration, renewable energy through windfarms, community energy and water projects (hydro plants), and waste-to-energy (landfill gas capture and biomass). The brand also makes sure that its suppliers adhere to ethical sourcing, and packages its formula in recyclable materials.

Dame is setting high standards for period product brands, and honestly, it's nothing short of inspiring. In addition to being responsible for creating the world's first reusable tampon applicator, the company is also officially carbon negative. To make as much impact on the planet and people as possible, the brand took time to establish an offsetting project to work with, finally deciding on a clean water borehole initiative in Northern Uganda, which not only prevents emissions from burning firewood, but also provides safe water for the community. If that wasn't enough, the company is also a B Corp meaning it's legally required to consider the impact of its decision making both socially and environmentally.

Sustainability is the center of Bolt Beauty and that includes being carbon neutral as the company only purchases Gold Standard carbon credits because of the rigorous criteria. "To be Gold Standard, the project must also take into account the wider impacts, like ecological benefits, support for human rights, and sustainable development," said founder Lisa Sexton. There are far more projects out there dedicated to reduce carbon dioxide from the environment than solely tree planting projects. One of the projects Bolt Beauty is currently involved in includes helping communities in developing countries transition to fuel efficient stoves, as it not only reduces carbon emissions (from the stone fires burning wood) but also improves living and health condition of women in those communities.

Ethique is Gold Standard carbon neutral and on a mission to further that by becoming carbon negative in 2021, with a goal of offsetting 120 percent of emissions. Since Ethique sells solid products, it actually makes the brand very sustainable just through the nature of its product model. One of its shampoo bars has just 8 percent of the carbon footprint when compared with liquid products in a plastic bottle. The company's office is powered by 100 percent renewable energy and all staff travel is offset; in fact, any staff air travel is offset twice. Most of all, Ethique recognizes that being carbon neutral (or negative) isn't the only answer, which is why the brand continually works to reduce its environmental impact.